1. The TenC Competence Observatory: An Enabling Technology for Common Description of Competences This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd-nc/1.0 or send a letter to Creative Commons, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, California 94305, USA. Panayiotis Zervas (pzervas@iti.gr) Pythagoras Karampiperis (pythk@iti.gr) Demetrios Sampson (sampson@iti.gr)

2. TenC Workshop, Manchester, January 2007 2/21 Outline IntroductionIntroduction –Problem Definition –Paper Contribution TenC Competence ObservatoryTenC Competence Observatory –Scope –Target Groups –Scenarios of Use –Main Functionalities –Supportive Functionalities –Exemplary screenshots Joint Model for Describing CompetencesJoint Model for Describing Competences ConclusionsConclusions

3. TenC Workshop, Manchester, January 2007 3/21 Problem Definition  Competence-based approaches have proved to be a critical tool in many organizational functions, such as –workforce and succession planning –performance appraisal  Competence-based approaches in the field of formal or non-formal education and training –are becoming more common –appear to offer the opportunity to develop training programmes that meet needs of learners, trainers and potential employers  However, different organizations may define the same competences in different ways due to different organizational processes  Enabling technologies and infrastructures for facilitating the synchronization for the creation of common competences descriptions are missing

4. TenC Workshop, Manchester, January 2007 4/21 Paper Contribution Thus, in this paper  We present the use of TenC Competence Observatory, an enabling technology that aims to support the creation of common description of competences that have to be acquired in different professional and academic fields

5. TenC Workshop, Manchester, January 2007 5/21 The TenC Competence Observatory Objectives  TenC Competence Observatory is a web-based environment, which is being developed under the context of the TENCompetence project.  TENCompetence project aims to support individuals, groups and organizations in Europe in Lifelong Competence Development.  TenC Competence Observatory scope is:  To store and monitor the competences that have to be acquired in different professional and academic fields  To provide interoperable mechanisms for expressing and exchanging the competences that must be met in order to obtain different jobs/functions

6. TenC Workshop, Manchester, January 2007 6/21 The TenC Competence Observatory Target Groups The groups that the TENC Competence Observatory tries to target are:  Enterprises or Organizations, who are interested in defining the desired competences for their employees’ job roles.  Individuals, who have a specific profession and they want to compare their own competences with reference ones (defined by an organization or enterprise) for their profession.

7. TenC Workshop, Manchester, January 2007 7/21 Usage scenario for an Organization/Enterprise Specify relevant job roles: the organization/enterprise define the different job roles for their employeesSpecify relevant job roles: the organization/enterprise define the different job roles for their employees Specify the relevant job levels: the job roles can be performed at one or more job levels, so the organization/enterprise define the different levels for the previous defined job rolesSpecify the relevant job levels: the job roles can be performed at one or more job levels, so the organization/enterprise define the different levels for the previous defined job roles Define the required competences: every job role has a set of competences that define the minimum requirements for that job roleDefine the required competences: every job role has a set of competences that define the minimum requirements for that job role Use the collaboration tools: the organization/enterprise can use the collaboration tools of the TenC Competence Observatory, in order to share experiences about the Competences of a specific job with other members of the systemUse the collaboration tools: the organization/enterprise can use the collaboration tools of the TenC Competence Observatory, in order to share experiences about the Competences of a specific job with other members of the system

8. TenC Workshop, Manchester, January 2007 8/21 Usage Scenario for an Individual Search for desired job roles: the individual searches for desired job roles that wants to become competentSearch for desired job roles: the individual searches for desired job roles that wants to become competent Select a specific job level for this job role: the individual selects specific job levels for the desired job rolesSelect a specific job level for this job role: the individual selects specific job levels for the desired job roles View competences related with a specific job level: compare their own competences with reference ones that have been defined from an organization or an enterpriseView competences related with a specific job level: compare their own competences with reference ones that have been defined from an organization or an enterprise Use the collaboration tools: the individual can use the collaboration tools of the TenC Competence Observatory, in order to share experiences with other members of the system about the competences he/she possessesUse the collaboration tools: the individual can use the collaboration tools of the TenC Competence Observatory, in order to share experiences with other members of the system about the competences he/she possesses

9. TenC Workshop, Manchester, January 2007 9/21 TenC Competence Observatory Main Functionalities (1/2) Create/Search Jobs/FunctionsCreate/Search Jobs/Functions Create/Search Competences descriptionsCreate/Search Competences descriptions Assign required Competences to Jobs/FunctionsAssign required Competences to Jobs/Functions Export and Import in XML representation Competences Descriptions based on IMS RDCEO and HR-XML specificationsExport and Import in XML representation Competences Descriptions based on IMS RDCEO and HR-XML specifications

10. TenC Workshop, Manchester, January 2007 10/21 TenC Competence Observatory Main Functionalities (2/2)

11. TenC Workshop, Manchester, January 2007 11/21 TenC Competence Observatory Supportive Functionalities  Information Services: for informing the members of TenC Competence Observatory for newly created jobs/functions  Search Engines: for searching the contents of the TenC Competence Observatory  Communication Tools: includes forums, chats and wikis for discussing about jobs/functions and the competences of these jobs/functions.

12. TenC Workshop, Manchester, January 2007 12/21 Create Jobs/Functions

13. TenC Workshop, Manchester, January 2007 13/21 Create Job/Function Levels

14. TenC Workshop, Manchester, January 2007 14/21 Search a Job/Function

15. TenC Workshop, Manchester, January 2007 15/21 View Required Competences for a Specific Job/Function

16. TenC Workshop, Manchester, January 2007 16/21 Collaborations Tools

17. TenC Workshop, Manchester, January 2007 17/21 View the XML Representation of Competences IMS RDCEO XML Representation HR-XML Representation

18. TenC Workshop, Manchester, January 2007 18/21 Importing and exporting Competences in XML format The TenC Competence Observatory supports the current state of the art description models for competencies namely, IMS RDCEO and HR-XML by importing and exporting competencies descriptions based on these specificationThe TenC Competence Observatory supports the current state of the art description models for competencies namely, IMS RDCEO and HR-XML by importing and exporting competencies descriptions based on these specification In order to achieve this, we have created a joint model for describing competences by mapping the elements of IMS-RDCEO and HR-XMLIn order to achieve this, we have created a joint model for describing competences by mapping the elements of IMS-RDCEO and HR-XML

19. TenC Workshop, Manchester, January 2007 19/21 Main Elements of the Joint Model for Describing Competences A globally unique label that identifies this definition of competence. A short name for this competence. The “Title” may be repeated in multiple languages. A narrative description of the competence. The “Description” may be repeated in multiple languages. The proficiency level of the competence. There may be multiple instances of this category. The “ProficiencyLevel” category may include different types of proficiency Level such as “Knowledge Level”, “Skill Level” and “Attitude Level”. Reference to taxonomies where this competence falls within a particular classification system. To define multiple classifications, there may be multiple instances of this category. Competences can be recursive. A competence may refer to other competences.

20. TenC Workshop, Manchester, January 2007 20/21 Conclusions and Future Work In this paper we present the TenC Competence Observatory an enabling technology that aims to support the creation of common description of competences for different job roleswe present the TenC Competence Observatory an enabling technology that aims to support the creation of common description of competences for different job roles we demonstrate the usage of the system and its capability to support the creation of common competences descriptionswe demonstrate the usage of the system and its capability to support the creation of common competences descriptions Future Work Promote the usage of the systemPromote the usage of the system Enrich the competences and jobs/functions of the systemEnrich the competences and jobs/functions of the system Further development (usability, interfaces)Further development (usability, interfaces)

21. TenC Workshop, Manchester, January 2007 21/21 Contact Details Demetrios Sampson (sampson@iti.gr) Advanced e-Services for the Knowledge Society Research Unit (ASK) Informatics and Telematics Institute (ITI) Center for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH) (http://www.ask4research.info)